Rationale

Service industries are rapidly emerging as the most dominant force in most world economies, including Australia. Services now account for some 70%-80% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of industrialised countries, about half of the GDP of middle-income countries and close to one-third of the value-added generated in low-income countries. Understanding the distinctive characteristics of services is equally applicable to organisations whose core product is service (eg, banks, transportation companies, hotels, hospitals, professional services etc.) and to organisations that depend on service excellence for competitive advantage (eg, high technology, manufacturers and industrial products, etc.). This course aims to provide an understanding of the theory and practices in the development and execution of service marketing strategies (both consumer and business-to-business services).

Synopsis

The theme of the course is that services (both commercial and not-for-profit) possess several unique characteristics that require a distinctive approach to marketing strategy - both in its development and execution. This is not to imply that the approach is unique, but rather distinctive. Therefore we build upon and expand the marketing concepts and models, and then adapt them to the services sector. We use marketing to examine how to improve service quality, increase and maintain customer satisfaction levels, generate customer loyalty, and create a healthy service culture within the firm. In services we discuss the 7 Ps of the 'Services Marketing Mix' (the traditional 4 Ps plus people, processes, and physical evidence). Since many services have a strong people or employee component (the fifth "p" of the marketing mix), time is devoted to examining successful internal marketing and relationship management, in addition to the more traditional customer-focused external marketing.

Objectives

On completion of this course students will be able to:

demonstrate an understanding of services marketing theories, concepts and practices and apply these to real-world services marketing organisations

perform a comprehensive analysis of any service marketing situation and justify recommendations for managerial action in the contemporary business environment

demonstrate effective written communication skills required of a marketing professional as outlined in the ‘Communication skills handbook’

demonstrate problem solving, planning and decision making through the application of the case analysis process to solve a services marketing case

demonstrate an ability to work as part of a team.

Topics

Description

Weighting(%)

1.

An introduction to services

8.00

2.

An overview of the services sector

10.00

3.

The consumer decision process in service marketing

8.00

4.

Service delivery process

8.00

5.

The pricing of services

8.00

6.

Developing the service communications mix

8.00

7.

Managing the firm's physical evidence

10.00

8.

People issues: managing service employees

8.00

9.

People issues: managing service customers

8.00

10.

Defining and measuring customer satisfaction

8.00

11.

Defining and measuring service quality

8.00

12.

Service failures, recovery strategies and customer retention

8.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2013&sem=06&subject1=MKT2012)

Assessment details

In the service encounter reports you will be called upon to recall and reflect on your experiences and identify how theory could aid you and the organisation in the service experience.

Important assessment information

Attendance requirements:
If you are an international student in Australia, you are advised to attend all classes at your campus. For all other students, there are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)

Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval of the examiner, then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded.

Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

Examination information:
There is no examination in this course.

Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Not applicable.

University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au.

Assessment notes

Assignments:
(i) The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must submit the assignment to the USQ.

(ii) Students must retain a copy of each assignment submitted for assessment. This must be produced within 24 hours if required by the examiner.

(iii) The examiner may grant an extension of the due date of an assignment in extenuating circumstances. Applications for extensions should be in writing and must include supporting documentary evidence. Extensions are only granted in unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances. The examiner shall consider all documentary evidence (including statement from a doctor, employer, counsellor or independent member of the community as appropriate) accompanying an application for extension and decide on the outcome. Length of extensions: Up to one week extension (five working days) may be granted if a signed statement with supporting documentation is sent with the assignment, proving that an unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstance caused the delay, for example unusual and unpredictable work or family commitments. If the signed statement and supporting documentation does not show that unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances were present for the days claimed, then the normal reduction in marks for a late assignment of 5% per working day will apply.

(iv) Extensions beyond one week are not allowed unless express permission is obtained from the examiner. Extensions beyond one week are only granted in extreme circumstance because model answers may be distributed after this time. If you are likely to require an extension for a longer period than one week, you must contact the examiner for advice. In most cases, you will be required to complete an alternative make-up assignment. However, make-up assignments are only granted if you have passed all other pieces of assessment for the course.

Medical extensions: In the case of an application for extension for medical reasons, the documentation should include a statement from a doctor stating: the date the medical condition began or changed; how the condition affected the student's ability to study; when it became apparent that the student could not submit the assignment. As a rule, you will be granted an extension for the number of working days covered on a medical certificate. In the case of a medical extension, you do not need to contact the examiner unless you require an extension of longer than one week.

Extensions for family/personal reasons: In the case of an application for extension for family/personal reasons, the documentation should include a statement from a doctor, counsellor or independent member of the community stating: the date the student's personal circumstances began or changed; how the circumstances affected the student's ability to complete the assignment; when it became apparent that the student could not complete the assignment. In the case of an extension for family/personal reasons you must contact the examiner before the due date to discuss the reason for the extension and to negotiate the length of an extension if granted.

Extensions for employment-related reasons: In the case of an application for extension for employment-related reasons, the documentation should include a statement from the student's employer stating: the date the student's employment began or the conditions of employment changed; how this prevents the student from completing the assignment. In the case of an extension for employment-related reasons you must contact the examiner before the due date to discuss the reason for the extension and to negotiate the length of an extension if granted.

Text books:
Please note that it is the responsibility of the student to acquire a copy of the text book as soon as their enrolment in the course has been confirmed. Extensions will not be granted on the basis of the student not having a copy of the text, if the text is available from the USQ Bookshop.

Referencing in assignments:
Harvard (AGPS) is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use Harvard (AGPS) style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing.

Word count in assignments:
Students must put the 'word count' for their assignment on the front page of the assignment. The word count is the number of words in the body of the assignment report and does not include the title, executive summary, list of references or appendices. To grade an assignment a marker does not need to read more words than the word limit of the assignment.